While most Americans have some investment in the stock market, a disproportionate share of gains have gone to the wealthy, with the richest 10% of households owning around 90% of all stocks, according to Federal Reserve data<\/a>. <\/p>\n Those same households were responsible for around half of all consumer spending in 2025, the highest rate since at least 1989, according to Moody\u2019s Analytics<\/a>. Wealthy households also buoyed the housing market and new car sales over the past year. Walmart said last month that most of its growth<\/a> was coming from households making more than $100,000. <\/p>\n Jeremy Kregar, 23, considers himself lucky among his group of college friends. He\u2019s making $21 an hour working for an optometrist in Portland, Oregon, where he has relatively affordable rent of $1,000 a month. <\/p>\n But his paycheck barely covers his bills, including payments on his $20,000 student loan. Some days, he said he\u2019s skipped meals because he can\u2019t afford groceries and earns too much to qualify for food stamps. The idea of owning a home, saving for retirement or building an emergency savings fund seems hopeless, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cBased on my lived reality, and that of my friends, it doesn\u2019t seem like anyone\u2019s doing better. It seems like everyone\u2019s actually doing worse,\u201d Kregar said. \u201cIt feels like we\u2019re being gaslit by the government.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the ways Trump has affected Americans\u2019 bottom line is through his tariffs, which have driven up retail prices<\/a>, said Doug Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, who worked in the George W. Bush administration. Higher prices disproportionately affect<\/a> those with less disposable income to absorb price hikes. <\/p>\n The tariffs \u201care hurting the bottom end much more than the upper end,\u201d Holtz-Eakin said. \u201cAnd they have been responsible for a lot of headwinds to the labor market.\u201d <\/p>\n The slowing job market is putting significant pressure on households. Wages aren\u2019t rising as quickly as in recent years, and employers have pulled back on hiring. The U.S. added just 584,000 jobs in 2025, the worst year for hiring since Covid. And most of the growth was driven by a handful of industries, like health care and education. <\/p>\n Economists have blamed this on factors including higher costs and uncertainty from tariffs, overhiring by companies after the pandemic, and the increasing use of robotics and AI. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen essentially no job growth. If you look outside of health and education, we lost jobs in 2025,\u201d Holtz-Eakin said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a strong labor market. People are not getting hired.\u201d<\/p>\n Measuring Trump\u2019s moves<\/p>\n The economy was once Trump\u2019s strongest selling point: He centered his 2016 campaign on a fight for working-class voters. Once he was in office, wage growth accelerated<\/a> for the lowest-paid workers and unemployment fell to the lowest level<\/a> in decades, prior to the disruptions caused by the pandemic. <\/p>\n But in his second term, Trump\u2019s approval rating on the economy has been slipping<\/a>. <\/p>\n A White House official said the administration aims to follow a similar playbook to Trump\u2019s first term: using tax cuts and regulatory changes to spur investment, along with a crackdown on immigration, which the administration believes will tighten the labor market and drive up wages. <\/p>\n \u201cMuch work remains, but this is just the beginning,\u201d White House spokesman Kush Desai said in an email, adding, \u201cAmericans can rest assured that the best is yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump has proposed some programs designed to help lower households\u2019 costs, such as a cap on credit card interest payments and a 50-year mortgage that would reduce monthly payments. Many of the proposals haven\u2019t been enacted.<\/p>\n Other moves, like price cuts on a limited number of prescription drugs<\/a>, will benefit some people \u2014 but could be offset by higher health insurance costs after Congress failed to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. <\/p>\n Some programs will take years to have an effect, like Trump-branded savings accounts for young children. The federal government will deposit $1,000 into the accounts, which will be invested in the stock market and converted to retirement accounts when children turn 18. Assuming the stock market continues growing at about 10% a year, that $1,000 would become about $5,500 in 18 years. The amount could grow substantially more if families are able to make the maximum contribution of $5,000 a year, which benefits wealthier households. <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s most direct impact on Americans\u2019 finances may come as they file their taxes; many households will see a bigger refund thanks to Trump\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d signed into law last summer. Middle-income households may benefit from a reduction in taxes on overtime pay, and some older adults will get a tax break on their Social Security income. <\/p>\n But the biggest gains in new tax cuts will go to wealthier households, including those who own businesses or expensive homes in states with high property taxes and those who receive multimillion-dollar inheritances. The law also extends tax cuts made during Trump\u2019s first term that were set to expire.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are things in the bill like no tax on tips, but they are much, much smaller\u201d compared with interventions that help the wealthy, like the estate tax, said Owen Zidar, an economics professor at Princeton University. <\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1770343199509_f_mo_la_trump_drugs_260205_1920x1080-la8zpm.jpg\")
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